Tasting this organic producer’s range in December straight after an impressive series of Tuscany wines, mainly from Sangiovese, I wrote about this one that it “immediately impressed by the exuberance of its exotically floral and spicy fruit backed up by some nice grip to complement food; 15/20++ QPR”. Last night, without the contrast of the tangy acidity and minerality of the Tuscans, I was less stuck by the spiciness and more by the ripe roundness of the fruit, the generous mouth-fill and the orange peel touches towards the finish which are common in Southern Italian reds beyond their first flush of youth. It was certainly food friendly and a very agreeable, if noticeably alcoholic, quaff; 15/20++ QPR confirmed.

Uva di Troia is at least semi-aromatic, and I've had some very interesting wines from northern Puglia made at least partially from the grape.

Aromatic red varieties vinified dry are sort of a small Italian specialty, are there any in France?

Really informative discussions here, good Focus indeed.Being a big "lets open a white" fan, have purchased a `09 Greco di Tofu from Mastroberardino. It has been a while since I last tasted a GdT. What should I look out for?

Tasting this organic producer’s range in December straight after an impressive series of Tuscany wines, mainly from Sangiovese, I wrote about this one that it “immediately impressed by the exuberance of its exotically floral and spicy fruit backed up by some nice grip to complement food; 15/20++ QPR”. Last night, without the contrast of the tangy acidity and minerality of the Tuscans, I was less stuck by the spiciness and more by the ripe roundness of the fruit, the generous mouth-fill and the orange peel touches towards the finish which are common in Southern Italian reds beyond their first flush of youth. It was certainly food friendly and a very agreeable, if noticeably alcoholic, quaff; 15/20++ QPR confirmed.

Uva di Troia is at least semi-aromatic, and I've had some very interesting wines from northern Puglia made at least partially from the grape.

Aromatic red varieties vinified dry are sort of a small Italian specialty, are there any in France?

Thanks for that, Oliver. AFAIK this was my first wine made from this grape but I hope by no means the last.

Re French red grapes, I can think of no red equivalents of Gewurztraminer or Muscat, but the wines in the South are often quite aromatic. For example, the other day I had an unusually spicy St.Chinian made from Syrah, Grenache 40% each plus some Mourvèdre and Carignan, which is a fairly common mix in Languedoc. The specific terroir presumably played a role.

Last night we ordered takeout tomato sauce based pizza from the best restaurant in this Sierra southmost suburbia in the sky. Terre del Grico Salice Salentino 2001 was the wine, and it was instructive--no air time. It was a little sweet, reminiscent of beets—a perfect pizza wine.

What a difference a few hours can make! Salice Salantino is mainly made from the negroamaro grape. It was black enough, but the bitterness, amaro, made late-night Romano cheese from TJs work well. 14% abv is high but probably average for this Puglianese wine. It held up well despite being a forgotten bottle from the mists of time (=before keeping records of what and when!). We wish we had another bottle. Is such a drastic shift in character typical for salice salantino?

Color is pale straw lemon, nose is of interest. Nice aromatics of flowers, lemon, zippy. Initial entry thought was off-dry, good fruit, long finish which appeals more close to chilly room temp. Medium weight, minerality not nutty, hung in on day 2. Lightish in texture but still appeals.

That sounds a nice one, Bob. Why not try to compare it to one from Feudi San G, which I think you have in town? Do you have access to any reds from Mastro... I remember having greatly enjoyed some when holidaying at Positano (alas I can no longer afford it ) in the 80s. I haven't yet located a source of Mastro here but I'll get onto Wine Searcher after finishing this message.

Adding to the smattering of Sicilians in the thread, here's one from the always-solid Cusumano. A somewhat atypical Nero d'Avola, I must say:

Cusomano, Nero d'Avola, Sicilia 2010Very Sicilian nose, with dark fruit and the kind of smokey stoniness that I describe as 'volcanic.' Starts out with a surprisingly bright and juicy personality of dark cherry, blackberry/blueberry, and currants, but reveals more and more undertone as it opens, with floral notes, orange rind, herbs, a bit of tomato paste, and that volcanic stone/earth. Ripe, juicy, full-bodied, and more Syrah-like than any other Nero d'Avola I've had. Despite the typical earthy Sicilian undertones, this is the brightest, most aromatic Nero d'Avola I've had, and possible also the best. The bright initial acidity will go well with a meal, then mellow to make a nice wine to drink by itself afterwards. *** [1/15/12]

Argiolas winery is run by two bothers on the island of Sardinia (they employ one of Italy's leading oenologists, Giacomo Tachis). Both Matt Kramer and Nicholas Belfrage, in their excellent Italy books, rate this winery above Sella and Mosca. When I mentioned to the folks on a UK forum that I had come across a Vermentino from Argiolas, they all seemed quite enthusiastic so here goes!

WTN: `10 Argiolas Vermentino di Sardegna Costamolino.

Good natural cork, $21 Cdn, 13.5% alc, I initially served quite chilled but some interesting changes in profile as wine warmed up. I have to wonder if Vermentino is the next white to grab the attention of wine-lovers? SB it ain`t, not even close to the Rousanne/Marsanne crew, no buttery Chard oak here mates. I can see traits of Viognier here however.

Color. Medium straw, no green.Nose. Lemon, spice, mandarin orange. "Torrontes lookalike" from across the table?Palate. Initial entry thought is off-dry, hint of RS, very good acidity here, real zippy aftertaste with spice tones as it warms. Not oily, apricot and orange zest apparent. It is attractive when quite chilled but shows a better/more diverse finish when warmed up. Both temps will attract however. It held up really well over 24 hrs, must get some more of this but think will consumme when it is not minus 35 outside!

WTN: IGT Irpinia Aglianico Serpico 2000 - Feudi San Gregorio - Alc.14% - (€50 for current vintages), raised for 18 months in barriques of French oak.Contrary to my fears based on young specimens, the big oak has become well integrated in this wine's 12th year and showed itself only as a sweetly polished patina which did not overwhelm the rest. The aromas on the nose showed sweet rose petals, clay and tar together with that smooth patina. The palate was full bodied with, on entry and mid-palate, lively acidity, considerable complexity and depth of dark fruit and mineral flavours with notes of blackberry, earth, spice and hints of old book and, on the very firm finish, massive but by now civilised tannins. There was a lot of character in this wine but I don't have enough experience to know how typical it was of Campanian Aglianico; I would love to try a good mature one which has not "benefited" from big oak and fancy that it would be wilder, more savoury and more exciting. However, this one was very good; 16.5/20+++.

Tim, just goes to show the aging potential of some of these wines eh. This one I am posting on here could use some time, that is for sure.

WTN: `08 Argiolas Costera Cannonau di Sardegna.

Here is a red this time from Argiolas. Good natural cork, $25 Cdn, 14% alc, half hour decant and drunk over two days. Food was pork tenderloin scallopini with mushroom sauce, roasted root vegies.

Color is quite deep, some purple in the right light.Nose...lots of cherry, herbal for sure, earthy, black fruits as it opens and some spice.Initial palate entry thought was dry, medium tannins, some bitterness on the long finish. Dusty, cherry, pepper. "Earth and tar" from across the table plus very dry. Very good acidity, blackberry and just a brief hint of some vague ripe fruit on day 2. Oak is subtle however but needs another year or so. Would not have guessed old world grenache if served blind? I was looking for some blueberry but out of luck eh. Wonder if I can find a Sella and Mosca?

Bob Parsons Alberta. wrote:Tim, just goes to show the aging potential of some of these wines eh. This one I am posting on here could use some time, that is for sure.

WTN: `08 Argiolas Costera Cannonau di Sardegna.

Here is a red this time from Argiolas. Good natural cork, $25 Cdn, 14% alc, half hour decant and drunk over two days. Food was pork tenderloin scallopini with mushroom sauce, roasted root vegies.

Color is quite deep, some purple in the right light.Nose...lots of cherry, herbal for sure, earthy, black fruits as it opens and some spice.Initial palate entry thought was dry, medium tannins, some bitterness on the long finish. Dusty, cherry, pepper. "Earth and tar" from across the table plus very dry. Very good acidity, blackberry and just a brief hint of some vague ripe fruit on day 2. Oak is subtle however but needs another year or so. Would not have guessed old world grenache if served blind? I was looking for some blueberry but out of luck eh. Wonder if I can find a Sella and Mosca?

Bob, I reckon that these finer Aglianicos need decent ageing to bring out their class, which IMO is unique in southern Italian reds. (Etna's Nerello Mascalese reds are classy in a lighter and more elegant way.) Add to that the fact that I find young Serpico undrinkable due to vanilla and dry caramel flavours from its big oak and the case for ageing it is unanswerable.

Bob Parsons Alberta. wrote:Tim, just goes to show the aging potential of some of these wines eh. This one I am posting on here could use some time, that is for sure.

WTN: `08 Argiolas Costera Cannonau di Sardegna.

Here is a red this time from Argiolas. Good natural cork, $25 Cdn, 14% alc, half hour decant and drunk over two days. Food was pork tenderloin scallopini with mushroom sauce, roasted root vegies.

Color is quite deep, some purple in the right light.Nose...lots of cherry, herbal for sure, earthy, black fruits as it opens and some spice.Initial palate entry thought was dry, medium tannins, some bitterness on the long finish. Dusty, cherry, pepper. "Earth and tar" from across the table plus very dry. Very good acidity, blackberry and just a brief hint of some vague ripe fruit on day 2. Oak is subtle however but needs another year or so. Would not have guessed old world grenache if served blind? I was looking for some blueberry but out of luck eh. Wonder if I can find a Sella and Mosca?

Bob, I reckon that these finer Aglianicos need decent ageing to bring out their class, which IMO is unique in southern Italian reds. (Etna's Nerello Mascalese reds are classy in a lighter and more elegant way.) Add to that the fact that I find young Serpico undrinkable due to vanilla and dry caramel flavours from its big oak and the case for ageing it is unanswerable.

Isn't Cannonau synonymous with Grenache/Garnacha?

Tim - You are correct about Cannonau being the same as Grenache. Incidentally, I have had several of the Feudi wines, and liked most of them, but have never tried the Serpico.

Bob - Thank you for the notes on the Feudi Greco di Tufo and the Argiolas wines. I like both of these producers, but have not had much from either over the past year or so.

Incidentally, I had planned to go to a local Masseria Li Veli (Puglia) tasting this past weekend, but the snow kept me away. I'll have to come up with another Southern Italian wine to open by the end of the month.

C. Medium purple, watery rim. Appeals for sure.N. Blackberry, blueberry too. Hints of cherry, "somewhat earthy" from across the table.P. Initial entry is dry, dusty tannins which are fine grained. Cherry, blackberry, great appeal, not "new world" at all. Good acidity, lengthy finish with plum. Still dusty on day 2, plus some pepper, tangy black fruit lingers on palate.Winner!

WTN: 2009 Azienda Agricola Ceuso Scurati Sicilia IGT.

So here is the latest vintage, purchased for this months forum. Usually I cellar for 18 months or so, let us see what developes here.

$26 Cdn, synthetic cork, opened one hour, did not decant. No trace of sediment noted.

Color. Medium purple ruby, no big intense centre here.Nose. Red and dark fruits, cherry with hint of earthyness.Palate entry is dry, some astringency on the finish. Good length, not hot. Hint of some ripe fruit as it airs, medium-bodied, non-oaked as usual. "Feel could benefit with some cellaring" from across the table.On day 2 much better finish, softer tannins, cherry and plum make it more accessible.

Bob Parsons Alberta. wrote: "Feel could benefit with some cellaring" from across the table.

....but not too much because the synthetic cork could let it down.

Another recurrent rant!!! Producers who use synthetics on wines with some ageing potential . I had been caught out more than once opening a first bottle after, say, 5 years ageing and finding a synthetic stopper with already diminished wine underneath.

2007 Marangi Negroamaro, Tenute Mater Domini, Salento IGT:Made from ca. 50 year old vines by a producer established in 2003. Quite dark ruby with some slight brick tones. Fragrant and lively. There is a bitter orange note, with tar and coal smoke. Maybe a touch of cocoa powder. Fairly deep, tannic and long; could be worth cellaring. Supposedly, this sees a decent percentage of new French oak, but this isn't obvious. Good stuff. 14% abv, $19.